Monday Fire at Area DOH Building Leaves One Dead

According to MetroNews, a worker with the state Division of Highways died as a result of a fire early Monday morning at DOH headquarters in Webster County, authorities said.

Stephen Cogar, 22, who has been with the DOH since October, died of smoke inhalation from the fire at the garage located at Cherry Falls.

A news release from the Webster County Office of Emergency Services said Webster County received several 911 hang-up calls from Cogar’s cell phone. Before that, Cogar had been chatting with a Webster County dispatcher on social media.

A Webster County deputy was dispatched to the DOH garage after the hang-up calls, the release said.

“(The deputy) was immediately dispatched to investigate the calls after numerous attempts to contact Mr. Cogar via cell phone and landline phone at DOH Headquarters. At approximately 2:41am, Deputy Clayton arrived on scene reporting a working fire at the West Virginia Department of Highways Headquarters in Webster Springs.”

The state Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Click HERE for the rest of the report and updates if, and when, they become available.